Plainfield's Crab Boil 59 Gets High Marks: Ferak

PLAINFIELD, IL — As a teenager, growing up in Plainfield, the brick building near St. Mary's Immaculate Catholic Church on Route 59 was about the only grocery store in town. Back then we knew it as Parks or Gehrke's. But a transformation has taken place. This past week, I ventured into the new Crab Boil 59 for my next food column. I didn't know what to expect.

I wanted to try something different, something totally different. Something outside my comfort zone. No hotdogs, no hamburgers, no tacos, no fish fries. Seafood in Will County.

Admittedly, I haven't been much of a seafood diner for most of my life. I have eaten seafood in New Orleans during my college years and during a trip to Washington, D.C. a couple years ago, and that's probably about it.

I'm not a huge Red Lobster person. I don't hate Red Lobster, I'm just ambivalent about the chain.

So what can I say about Crab Boil 59?

First of all, dress casual. That is a must. This is not a place for suit and tie dinners. There's a good chance your fingers will turn orange like mine did while eating this delicious seafood. That's OK, that's expected. There are multiple handwashing stations inside Crab Boil 59.

And there are plenty of brown paper towels. Most of my food columns I try to write about places where the meals are $10 or less. But this is seafood and this is quality seafood. So I splurged.

I went with the $26.99 Shellfish Medley as I sat at Table 11.

The Shellfish Medley consists of 1 pound of mussels, 1/2 pound of snow crab legs and 1/2 pound of whole shrimp. For flavors, you can go with garlic butter, lemon pepper, simply Cajun and the Route 59 Special.

Now for the best part. My server delivered my food inside a white plastic bag, filled with several ounces of tangy sauces mixed together. I got a set of pliers and some other device to help crack open the crab legs. I did OK with them, but my visit to Crab Boil 59 was a good reminder of why I was never cut out to be a surgeon or a dentist.

I went on Tuesday night, figuring the place might be dead, but I was absolutely wrong. There were several tables filled with guests. People were coming and going all through the night.

Practically everyone in the restaurant wore a plastic bib while eating, myself included.

Anyway, when I finished, I paid my bill and introduced myself to the Crab Boil staff. I told them their new restaurant might make a good feature for my latest restaurant column that runs in the Joliet Patch and for the Plainfield Patch.

Crab Boil 9 is open 4 to 9 p.m. Monday-Friday and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The establishment has a nice bar inside and plenty of beer selections.

Manager Matt Kimball told me: "We get people from Joliet, Bolingbrook and Romeoville. It's very casual. It's a place for dates."

Kimball also stressed you don't have to be a seafood expert to dine here. Not at all. Crab Boil Route 59 is geared toward novices, people like me.

"Not everyone is familiar with the process of a crab boil," he explained to me. "It comes in a bag, you get the bibs and you eat with your hands.

"Come hungry, come looking for a fun experience. They order the seafood fresh. The lobster comes from Maine, the shrimp is from Louisiana."

Since opening in February, Crab Boil 59 has been drawing lots of customers after church on Sunday, especially from St. Mary's Immaculate Catholic Church, which is a short distance away.

The restaurant does not accept reservations but it does take carryout orders. The number is 815-230-5338. Here's the online menu for Crab Boil 59.

The new Plainfield restaurant plans to have outdoor patio seating when summer rolls around.